1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to improvements in tripod supports, and more particularly, to an improved tripod support for a stenographic machine typically used by a court reporter for transcribing testimony, the tripod permitting variations in the spatial orientations of the stenographic machine relative to the user to reduce muscular fatigue without reducing the stability of the tripod.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of tripods to support a shorthand machine is well known in the art. Because of the arduously long hours a user (such as a court reporter) must spend sitting in a fixed position relative to a stenographic (shorthand) machine, it is desirable to have a support structure for the stenographic machine which enables the user to adjust the machine to a variety of spatial positions relative to the user or the floor, thereby enabling changes from time to time of the physical position of the court reporter to provide more comfortable and variable shorthand machine operating positions which result in reduced fatigue and increased productivity.
Commensurate with this goal, a tripod support having an attachment for varying the angle of the supported shorthand machine has been developed, such as the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,301, issued to Yerkes. The Yerkes patent teaches the use of a conventional tripod base assembly having a central shaft end attached to a cantilevered support surface which may be vertically and angularly adjusted to suit the comfort zone of the user. However, by virtue of the cantilevered design, this type of support is incapable of providing a stable vibration free working surface due to the large bending moment developed by supporting the mass of the shorthand machine eccentrically relative to the central shaft axis.
Other types of tripod supports having angularly adjustable cantilevered support arms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,593,075, issued to Dale, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,796, issued to Guenther and U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,478, issued to Schoenig, et al. It is significant that none of the aforementioned references suggest an angularly variable tripod support for a device without supporting the device in some kind of cantilevered arrangement.
Therefore, there exists a need for a tripod support apparatus having an adjustable feature to change the angular orientation of a central support shaft relative to a floor, whereby the supported object such as a stenographic machine may be conveniently positioned at different spatial locations without reducing stability and structural integrity of the tripod, especially for the benefit of a court reporter to allow for different body positions at desired intervals.